Wireless charging apparatus and method

ABSTRACT

A wireless charging method and apparatus are provided. Identification information is transmitted, through a near field communication antenna, to a wireless power transmitter for an authentication process of the electronic device, if the electronic device is put on the wireless power transmitter for wireless charging and a near field communication controller is in an initial or idle state. Wireless power is received through a wireless power receiving antenna from the wireless power transmitter after the authentication process. Wireless charging is performed through a wireless charging controller by using the received wireless power. It is determined whether the wireless charging is complete. A charging completion signal is transmitted, through the near field communication antenna, to the wireless power transmitter based on the determining

PRIORITY

This application is a Continuation Application of U.S. application Ser.No. 13/859,329, filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Apr. 9,2013, which claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119(a) to KoreanApplication Serial No. 10-2012-0036888, which was filed in the KoreanIntellectual Property Office on Apr. 9, 2012, the content of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a wireless charging apparatusand method, and more particularly, to a wireless charging apparatus andmethod that control wireless power transmission through a non-contactwireless local communication channel.

2. Description of the Related Art

Various technologies for providing power to portable electronic productshave been developed in response to increases in the release anddistribution of various portable electronic products along with thedevelopment of Information Technology (IT). A technology of receivingpower by using a power line was previously used, but a wireless powertransmission technology capable of wirelessly receiving power is hasbeen actively developed.

The wireless power transmission technology transmits electric energy ina form of electromagnetic wave, electromagnetic induction, orelectromagnetic resonance, which wirelessly supplies power without apower line, such as an electric wire, anytime and anywhere. The wirelesspower transmission technology is a core technology for wirelesslycharging electronic devices, wirelessly supplying or charging power toelectric cars, wirelessly supplying power to a remote place, andsupplying power through ubiquitous wireless sensors. The wireless powertransmission technology may be used to replace conventional methods ofsupplying or charging power through an electric wire.

When using the wireless power transmission technology for a wirelesscharging apparatus, the wireless charging apparatus includes a wirelesspower transmitter for supplying power and a wireless power receiver forcharging power to a battery. The wireless power transmitter measures achange in value of loads or a change in value of a resonance frequencyin a wireless charging standby state, and detects whether an object isput on a source resonator. Further, when the object is detected, thewireless power transmitter transmits power required for charging tosupply the power to the object, and identifies whether the object is anobject for the wireless charging or another metal object through anauthentication process such as an ID exchange. When the authenticationis successfully performed, the wireless power transmitter determines theobject put on the source resonator as a wirelessly rechargeable charger,that is, the wireless power receiver, and negotiates the powertransmission. When the negotiation is completed, the wireless powertransmitter starts wireless power supply for charging the wireless powerreceiver, and then identifies whether the corresponding wireless powerreceiver is completely charged. When the wireless power receiver iscompletely charged, the wireless power transmitter stops transmittingthe power to the corresponding wireless power receiver.

The wireless power transmitter and the wireless power receiver performwireless power transmission control through communication, and acommunication scheme includes an in-band communication scheme orout-of-band communication scheme. The in-band communication schemeperforms the wireless power transmission control by using the samefrequency band as a wireless supply frequency band and a communicationfrequency band between the wireless power transmitter and the wirelesspower receiver. The out-of-band communication scheme performs thewireless power transmission control by using different frequency bandsas a wireless supply frequency band and a communication frequency bandbetween the wireless power transmitter and the wireless power receiver.

Since the wireless charging apparatus is currently applied to a portablesmall electronic device, components therein become smaller, and variousconfigurations and circuit arrangement techniques are used to improvethe capability thereof.

For example, the wireless charging apparatus is applied to a portableterminal that receives power from a charging pad and performs batterycharging. The portable terminal employs a technique which makes sizes ofcomponents for the wireless charging small, arranges some components forthe wireless charging within the portable terminal to improve thecapability thereof, and connects the remaining components arrangedoutside the portable terminal through connection terminals.

For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a portable terminal to which a wirelesscharging apparatus is applied. Referring to FIG. 1, the portableterminal includes a portable terminal body 10 and an external batterycover 20. When the wireless charging apparatus is applied to theportable terminal, some components for wireless charging are included inthe body 10, and remaining components 22 for wireless charging arearranged on the external battery cover 20. The wireless chargingapparatus can operate through a connection between the components of thewireless charging apparatus located in the body 10 and the components ofthe wireless charging apparatus located in the external battery cover 20by means of the wireless charging connection terminals.

However, the portable terminal includes other components for functionsother than wireless charging, which are separately located within thebody 10 and on the external battery cover 20. For example, component 26for non-contact local communication may be separately arranged withinthe body 10 and on some areas of the external battery cover 20, andcomponents for non-contact local communication may operate throughconnection terminals for the non-contact local communication indicatedby reference numerals 15 and 25.

As described above, when there are connection terminals 11, 21, 15, and25 for wireless charging and non-contact local communication in theportable terminal, the number of connection terminals increase inproduction of the portable terminal, which makes a manufacturing processcomplex.

When the components for wireless power transmission and the componentsfor non-contact local communication are redundant, a plurality ofcommunication components is required, which results in inefficiency andresource waste.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been made to address at least the aboveproblems and/or disadvantages and to provide at least the advantagesdescribed below. Accordingly, an aspect of the present inventionprovides a wireless charging apparatus and method, which allow forwireless charging and non-contact local communication through a pair ofconnection terminals by using a switch when a plurality of connectionterminals for wireless charging and non-contact local communication arerequired.

Another aspect of the present invention provides a wireless chargingapparatus and method that do not need a separate communication modulefor wireless charging by performing wireless power transmission controlfor wireless charging by using non-contact local communication.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a wirelesscharging method by an electronic device is provided. Identificationinformation is transmitted, through a near field communication antenna,to a wireless power transmitter for an authentication process of theelectronic device, if the electronic device is put on the wireless powertransmitter for wireless charging and a near field communicationcontroller is in an initial or idle state. Wireless power is receivedthrough a wireless power receiving antenna from the wireless powertransmitter after the authentication process. Wireless charging isperformed through a wireless charging controller by using the receivedwireless power. It is determined whether the wireless charging iscomplete. A charging completion signal is transmitted, through the nearfield communication antenna, to the wireless power transmitter based onthe determining.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of the presentinvention will be more apparent from the following detailed descriptionwhen taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a portable terminal to which a wirelesscharging apparatus is applied;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a wireless chargingapparatus, according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a wireless charging method, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a charging controllerarranged at a body is connected with a wireless power receiver arrangedon a battery cover in a portable terminal, according to an embodiment ofthe present invention; and

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a first non-contactlocal communication unit arranged at a body is connected with a firstnon-contact wireless local communication antenna arranged on a batterycover in a portable terminal, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail withreference to the accompanying drawings. The same or similar componentsmay be designated by the same or similar reference numerals althoughthey are illustrated in different drawings. Further, various specificdefinitions found in the following description are provided only toassist in a general understanding of the present invention, and it isapparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention can beimplemented without such definitions. Detailed descriptions ofconstructions or processes known in the art may be omitted to avoidobscuring the subject matter of the present invention.

Embodiments of the present invention disclose a wireless chargingapparatus and method that perform communication for wireless powertransmission control by using non-contact local communication between awireless power transmitter for transmitting wireless power and awireless power receiver for receiving wireless power to performcharging. Some components for wireless charging arranged within thewireless power receiver and the remaining components for wirelesscharging arranged outside the wireless power receiver are connectedthrough a pair of connection terminals. Particularly, embodiments of thepresent invention describe a case of using, for example, a Near FieldCommunication (NFC) scheme as the non-contact wireless localcommunication scheme. However, other wireless local communicationschemes such as, for example, a ZigBee communication scheme, a Bluetoothcommunication scheme, an infrared communication scheme, and the like,may also be used as the non-contact wireless local communication scheme.

Further, the wireless charging apparatus, according to embodiments ofthe present invention, can be applied for wirelessly charging anelectronic device, wirelessly supplying and charging power to anelectric car, wirelessly supplying power to a remote place, supplyingpower through ubiquitous wireless sensors, and the like, and includesany device as long as the device can transmit wireless power and receivethe wireless power to perform the charging.

In order to assist in understanding of the present invention,embodiments of the present invention describe a case of applying awireless power transmission control device to a portable terminalincluding a body and a battery, and a charging pad.

The wireless charging apparatus is described in detail below, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagramillustrating a configuration of the wireless charging apparatus,according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 2, the wireless charging apparatus, according to anembodiment of the present invention, includes a portable terminal 100corresponding to a wireless power receiver and a charging pad 200corresponding to a wireless power transmitter.

The charging pad 200 includes a second non-contact wireless localcommunication antenna 222, a second non-contact wireless localcommunication unit 224, a wireless power transmitter 226, and atransmission (TX) resonator 228.

The wireless power transmitter 226 generates various types of messagesrequired for wireless power transmission to transmit the generatedmessages to the portable terminal 100 through the second non-contactwireless local communication unit 224. The wireless power transmitter226 receives a message transmitted from the portable terminal 100through the second non-contact wireless local communication unit 224.The wireless power transmitter 226 calculates a supply power quantity tobe transmitted through the TX resonator 228 based on informationreceived from the portable terminal 100. The wireless power transmitter226 transmits the calculated supply power quantity through the TXresonator 228.

The TX resonator 228 includes a resonance coil, and resonates on thesame frequency with a TX resonator 128 of the portable terminal 100 totransmit supply power to the portable terminal 100.

The second non-contact wireless local communication unit 224 performsnon-contact local communication, for example, NFC, with the portableterminal 100 through the second non-contact wireless local communicationantenna 222. The second non-contact wireless local communication unit224 transmits a message received from the portable terminal 100 to thewireless power transmitter 226, and transmits a message to betransferred from the wireless power transmitter 226 to the portableterminal 100.

The portable terminal 100 corresponds to the wireless power receiver forwirelessly receiving power from the charging pad 200 and charging thepower. The portable terminal 100 includes a body 110, physicallycorresponding to a first area, and a battery cover 120, corresponding toa second area physically separated from the first area.

A first non-contact wireless local communication unit 112, a chargingcontroller 114, a battery 116, a first switch 111, and a first terminal119 are arranged at the body 110. A first non-contact wireless localcommunication antenna 122, a wireless power receiver 126, a reception(RX) resonator 128, a second switch 121, and a second terminal 129 arearranged at the battery cover 120.

The first components 112, 114, 116, and 111 for wireless chargingarranged at the body 110, and the second components 122, 126, 128, and121 for wireless charging arranged at the battery cover 120, areconnected through the first and second terminals 119 and 229 accordingto operations of the first switch 111 and the second switch 121.

Specifically, the first non-contact wireless local communication unit112 and the first non-contact wireless local communication antenna 122are connected through the first and second terminals 119 and 129according to the operation of the first switch 111. Further, thewireless power receiver 126 and the charging controller 114 areconnected through the first and second terminals 119 and 229 accordingto the operation of the second switch 121. In an initial state (or idlestate), the first and second switches 111 and 121 maintain a state wherethe first non-contact wireless local communication unit 112 and thefirst non-contact wireless local communication antenna 122 areconnected.

The components separately arranged at the body 110 and the battery cover120 are described in detail below. The first non-contact wireless localcommunication unit 112 controls the first switch 111 to performcommunication for wireless charging control, and connects the firstnon-contact wireless local communication unit 112 and the firstnon-contact wireless local communication antenna 122. The first switch111 performs a switching operation for connecting the first non-contactwireless local communication unit 112 with the first terminal 119according to a control of the first non-contact wireless localcommunication unit 112. The first switch 111 includes the first terminal119. One side of the first switch 111 is connected to the firstnon-contact wireless local communication unit 112 and the chargingcontroller 114, and the other side is connected to the first terminal119. The first switch 111 performs a switching operation of connectingthe first terminal 119 with one of the first non-contact wireless localcommunication unit 112 and the charging controller 114, according to acontrol signal of the first non-contact wireless local communicationunit 112.

The first non-contact wireless local communication unit 112 is connectedwith the first non-contact wireless local communication antenna 122,according to connection between the first terminal 119 and the secondterminal 129. The first non-contact wireless local communication unit112 performs non-contact local communication, for example, NFC, with thecharging pad 200 when the first non-contact wireless local communicationunit 112 is connected with the first non-contact wireless localcommunication antenna 122. The first non-contact wireless localcommunication unit 112 transmits a message received from the chargingpad 200 and transmits a message to be transferred from the chargingcontroller 114 to the charging pad 200.

The RX resonator 128 includes a resonance coil, and resonates with theTX resonator 228 of the charging pad 200 on the same frequency. Whenreceiving supply power through the TX resonator 228, the wireless powerreceiver 126 is connected with the charging controller 114 bycontrolling the second switch 121. The second switch 121 performs aswitch operation for connecting the wireless power receiver 126 with thesecond terminal 129, according to a control of the wireless powerreceiver 126.

The second switch 121 includes the second terminal 129 physicallyconnected with the first terminal 119. One side of the second switch 121is connected to the second non-contact wireless local communicationantenna 122 and the wireless power receiver 126, and the other side isconnected to the second terminal 129. The second switch 121 performs aswitch operation for connecting the second terminal 129 with one of thesecond non-contact wireless local communication antenna 122 and thewireless power receiver 126, according to a control signal of thewireless power receiver 126.

The wireless power receiver 126 is connected with the chargingcontroller 114 according to connection between the second terminal 129and the first terminal 119. When the wireless power receiver 126 isconnected with the charging controller 114, the wireless power receiver126 transmits the supply power received through the TX resonator 228 tothe charging controller 114. The charging controller 114 rectifies thesupply power to charge the rectified supply power to the battery 116.

The first non-contact wireless local communication unit 112 controls thefirst switch 111 to perform communication for the wireless chargingcontrol, and connects the first non-contact wireless local communicationunit 112 with the first non-contact wireless local communication antenna122. The first switch 111 performs a switching operation for connectingthe first non-contact wireless local communication unit 112 with thefirst terminal 119, according to a control of the first non-contactwireless local communication unit 112.

The first non-contact wireless local communication unit 112 is connectedto the first non-contact wireless local communication antenna, accordingto connection between the first terminal 119 and the second terminal129. The first non-contact wireless local communication unit 112performs non-contact wireless local communication, for example, NFC,with the charging pad 200 in a state where the first non-contactwireless local communication unit 112 is connected with the firstnon-contact wireless local communication antenna 122. The firstnon-contact wireless local communication unit 112 transmits a messagereceived from the charging pad 200 to the charging controller 114, andtransmits a message to be transferred from the charging controller 114to the charging pad 200.

A wireless charging method based on the operation of the wirelesscharging apparatus is described in detail below, according to anembodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a wireless charging method, accordingto an embodiment of the present invention.

When the portable terminal 100 is put on the charging pad 200 for thecharging in an initial (idle) state and the first non-contact wirelesslocal communication unit 112 is connected with the first non-contactwireless local communication antenna 122, the portable terminal 100transmits identification information of the portable terminal 100 to thecharging pad 200 through the first non-contact wireless localcommunication unit 112 and the first non-contact wireless localcommunication antenna 122 and makes a request for the authentication, instep 302.

Accordingly, the charging pad 200 performs the authentication by usingthe identification information of the portable terminal 100, transmitsan authentication response message according to an authentication resultto the portable terminal 100, and supplies power through the wirelesspower transmitter 226 and the TX resonator 228 as the authentication iscompleted.

The portable terminal 100 receives the authentication response messagefrom the charging pad 200 through the first non-contact wireless localcommunication unit 112 and the first non-contact wireless localcommunication antenna 122, in step 304.

The portable terminal 100 performs a switching operation through thefirst switch 111 and the second switch 121 to connect the chargingcontroller 114 arranged at the body 110 with the wireless power receiver126 arranged at the battery cover 120, in step 306.

Specifically, FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state where thecharging controller 114 arranged at the body 110 is connected with thewireless power receiver 126 arranged at the battery cover 120 in theportable terminal 100, according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the portable terminal 100 controls the first switchto connect the charging controller 114 with the first terminal 119through the first non-contact wireless local communication unit 112, andcontrols the second switch 121 to connect the wireless power receiver126 with the second terminal 129 through the wireless power receiver126.

The first non-contact wireless local communication unit 112 can transmita control signal 1 to the first switch 111 for connecting the chargingcontroller 114 with the first terminal 119. The wireless power receiver126 can transmit a control signal 2 to the second switch 121 forconnecting the wireless power receiver 126 with the second terminal 129,according to a current change or a voltage change as the RX resonator128 resonates by the TX resonator 228.

Referring back to FIG. 3, when the charging controller 114 and thewireless power receiver 126 are connected through the first terminal 119and the second terminal 129 and enter a charging mode, the portableterminal 100 receives power supplied from the charging pad 200 throughthe wireless power receiver 126 and charges the power to the battery116, in step 308.

Further, the portable terminal 100 determines whether the charging iscompleted, in step 310. When the charging of the battery 116 iscompleted, the portable terminal 100 performs the switching operationsthrough the first switch 111 and the second switch 121 to connect thefirst non-contact wireless local communication unit 112 with the firstnon-contact wireless local communication antenna 122, in step 312.

Specifically, FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state where the firstnon-contact wireless local communication unit 112 arranged at the body110 is connected with the first non-contact wireless local communicationantenna 122 arranged at the battery cover 120 in the portable terminal100, according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the portable terminal 100 controls the first switch111 to connect the first non-contact wireless local communication unit112 with the first terminal 119 through the first non-contact wirelesslocal communication unit 112 and controls the second switch 121 toconnect the first non-contact wireless local communication antenna 122with the second terminal 129 through the wireless power receiver 126.

The first non-contact wireless local communication unit 112 can transmita control signal 3 to the first switch 111 for connecting the firstnon-contact wireless local communication unit 112 with the firstterminal 119. Further, the wireless power receiver 126 can transmit acontrol signal 4 to the second switch 121 for connecting the firstnon-contact wireless local communication antenna 122 with the secondterminal 129, according a current change of a voltage change as thecharging of the battery 116 is completed.

Referring again to FIG. 3, when the portable terminal 100 enters a statewhere non-contact wireless local communication with the charging pad 200is possible as the first non-contact wireless local communication unit112 is connected with the first non-contact wireless local communicationantenna 122, the portable terminal 100 transmits a wireless chargingcompletion signal to the charging pad 200 through the first non-contactwireless local communication unit 112 and the first non-contact wirelesslocal communication antenna 122, in step 314.

As described above, according to the wireless charging apparatus andmethod in embodiments of the present invention, when some components forwireless charging that are physically separated are connected throughconnection terminals, the components are connected by using a fewconnection terminals, for example, a pair of connection terminals, sothat the number of required connection terminals is decreased and asimple circuit configuration is achieved.

Also, according to the wireless charging apparatus and method inembodiments of the present invention, wireless power transmissioncontrol for wireless charging is performed by using non-contact localcommunication, so that a separate communication module for the wirelesscharging is not required and thus implementation costs are reduced.

Although concrete embodiments have been discussed in the detaileddescription of the present invention, various modifications can be madewithout departing from the scope of the present invention. For example,the NFC scheme has been described as the non-contact wireless localcommunication scheme according to embodiments of the present invention,but other wireless local communication schemes such as, for example, aZigBee communication scheme, a Bluetooth communication scheme, aninfrared communication scheme, and the like, can be used as thenon-contact wireless local communication scheme. Further, the portableterminal and the charging pad have been described as an example, in anembodiment of the present invention, but any device which can performwireless power transmission and receive wireless power to perform thecharging can be applied.

While the invention has been shown and described with reference tocertain embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled inthe art that various changes in form and detail may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as definedby the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A wireless charging method by an electronicdevice, comprising: transmitting, through a near field communicationantenna, identification information to a wireless power transmitter foran authentication process of the electronic device, if the electronicdevice is put on the wireless power transmitter for wireless chargingand a near field communication controller is in an initial or idlestate; receiving, through a wireless power receiving antenna, wirelesspower from the wireless power transmitter after the authenticationprocess; performing, through a wireless charging controller, wirelesscharging by using the received wireless power; determining whether thewireless charging is complete; and transmitting, through the near fieldcommunication antenna, a charging completion signal to the wirelesspower transmitter based on the determining.
 2. The wireless chargingmethod of claim 1, wherein the wireless charging antenna and the nearfield communication antenna are provided on an inner side of a housingwhich covers the electronic device.
 3. The wireless charging method ofclaim 1, wherein the wireless charging antenna is electrically connectedto the wireless charging controller through a plurality of connectionterminals.
 4. The wireless charging method of claim 1, wherein the nearfield communication antenna is electrically connected to the near fieldcommunication controller through a plurality of connection terminals.